CN110709265A

CN110709265A - Refrigeration cycle device

Info

Publication number: CN110709265A
Application number: CN201880037472.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 绿川麿; 家田恒
Original assignee: Denso Corp
Current assignee: Denso Corp
Priority date: 2017-06-08
Filing date: 2018-05-25
Publication date: 2020-01-17
Also published as: US20200086719A1; WO2018225545A1; JP2018203179A; JP6791024B2

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to enable the amount of refrigerant circulating in a circulation circuit to be detected with high accuracy and without requiring the operation of a passenger in a refrigeration cycle device mounted on a vehicle. A refrigeration cycle device which is mounted on a vehicle (1) and has a circulation circuit (200) through which a refrigerant circulates, is provided with: a refrigerant amount calculation unit (S200) that acquires a physical amount for specifying the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit and calculates the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit based on the physical amount; and an operation state determination unit (S100 to S106, S300, S400) that determines whether or not the vehicle is in an operation state in which a state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state, wherein the refrigerant amount calculation unit calculates the amount of refrigerant of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit when the operation state determination unit determines that the vehicle is in an operation state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state.

Description

Refrigeration cycle device

Cross reference to related applications

The application is based on Japanese patent application No. 2017-113656 applied on 6/8/2017, and the content of the description is incorporated into the application as a reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigeration cycle apparatus mounted on a vehicle and having a circulation circuit through which a refrigerant circulates.

Background

Conventionally, as a refrigeration cycle apparatus used for air conditioning of houses and the like, there is a refrigeration cycle apparatus described in patent document 1. The refrigeration cycle device is provided with: a circulation circuit for flowing a refrigerant; a temperature thermistor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant in each part of the circulation circuit; an input operation determination unit for controlling the refrigeration cycle based on each detection value detected by each temperature thermistor; and a display unit for displaying the output of the input calculation determination unit.

In this refrigeration cycle apparatus, the input operation determination unit calculates and compares a measurement value related to the amount of the liquid phase portion of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger with a theoretical value, and automatically determines an appropriate amount when the refrigerant is filled, and displays the filling state of the refrigerant on the display unit.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2008-232579

As in the device described in patent document 1, a hermetic compressor having high airtightness is used in a refrigeration cycle device used for air conditioning of houses, buildings, and the like, and various pipes are joined by welding to form a structure in which refrigerant leakage does not substantially occur.

On the other hand, in a refrigeration cycle apparatus mounted on a mobile body such as a vehicle, for convenience of maintenance, a semi-hermetic or open-type compressor is required, or a pipe made of rubber is used as a part of a circulation circuit to absorb vibration when the mobile body moves. In such a refrigeration cycle apparatus, a slight amount of refrigerant from a part of the compressor and the pipe cannot be prevented from leaking. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to detect the amount of refrigerant circulating in the pipe with high accuracy.

Further, the state of the refrigeration cycle in the refrigeration cycle device mounted on a mobile body such as a vehicle is greatly affected by the driving conditions of the vehicle. In such a refrigeration cycle apparatus, for example, the rotation speed of the compressor changes in accordance with the rotation speed of the engine. That is, the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit greatly fluctuates according to the rotation speed of the engine. In such a refrigeration cycle apparatus, the traveling wind introduced into the radiator greatly varies depending on the vehicle speed. That is, the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit also varies greatly depending on the vehicle speed. In this way, in a situation where the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit greatly fluctuates, it is difficult to accurately detect the amount of the refrigerant circulating in the various pipes.

Therefore, for example, it is conceivable that the detection scenario for detecting the amount of refrigerant is limited to a state in which the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable, and in this state, the amount of refrigerant is detected when the occupant operates the detection mode button. However, in such a method, the passenger is caused to perform the triggering action, which makes the passenger feel troublesome. In addition, when the occupant does not operate the detection mode button, the refrigerant amount cannot be detected.

Disclosure of Invention

The purpose of the present invention is to enable a refrigeration cycle device mounted on a vehicle to accurately detect the amount of refrigerant circulating in a circulation circuit without requiring an operation by a passenger.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a refrigeration cycle device mounted on a vehicle and having a circulation circuit through which a refrigerant circulates, includes: a refrigerant amount calculation unit that acquires a physical amount for specifying the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit, and calculates the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit based on the physical amount; and an operation state determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is in an operation state in which a state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state, wherein the refrigerant amount calculation unit calculates the amount of refrigerant of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit when the operation state determination unit determines that the vehicle is in an operation state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state.

Thus, when the operating state determining unit determines that the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and stable, the refrigerant amount calculating unit calculates the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit. Therefore, in the refrigeration cycle device mounted on the vehicle, the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit can be detected with high accuracy without requiring an operation by an occupant.

Note that the parenthesized reference numerals attached to the respective components and the like indicate an example of the correspondence between the components and the specific components and the like described in the embodiments described later.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle mounted with a refrigeration cycle apparatus according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the refrigeration cycle apparatus according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a mollier diagram showing the state of the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the refrigeration cycle apparatus according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart executed by the refrigerant leak detection device of the first embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a route to a destination.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a speed change when the vehicle travels along a route to a destination.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the refrigerant quantity determination process executed by the refrigerant leakage detection device.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart executed by the refrigerant leak detection device of the second embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the determination of the vehicle speed of the automobile.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart executed by the refrigerant leak detection device of the third embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to the same or equivalent portions as those described in the previous embodiments, and the description thereof may be omitted. In the embodiment, when only a part of the constituent elements is described, the constituent elements described in the previous embodiment can be applied to the other part of the constituent elements. In the following embodiments, the respective embodiments may be partially combined with each other within a range where the combination is not particularly hindered, even if not particularly explicitly stated.

(first embodiment)

The present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 8. As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, an example in which the refrigeration cycle device 20 is mounted on an autonomous vehicle 1 as a mobile body will be described. The automobile 1 of the present embodiment is equipped with an engine 10 that functions as a drive source for traveling and a drive source of the refrigeration cycle device 20.

The refrigeration cycle device 20 is applied to a vehicle air conditioner that air-conditions a vehicle interior space of the automobile 1. The refrigeration cycle device 20 functions to cool air blown out into the vehicle interior space to a desired temperature.

As shown in fig. 2, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 is configured as a vapor compression refrigeration cycle including a circulation circuit 200 in which a refrigerant circulates, a compressor 21, a radiator 22, a pressure reducing device 23, and an evaporator 24.

The refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 uses R134a as an HFC refrigerant. Oil for lubricating the compressor 21 is mixed into the refrigerant. A part of the oil circulates in the circulation circuit 200 together with the refrigerant.

The compressor 21 is a device that compresses and discharges a sucked refrigerant. The compressor 21 is configured to include a reciprocating compression mechanism. The compressor 21 may be configured to include a rotary compression mechanism.

The compressor 21 of the present embodiment is configured to be driven by a rotational driving force output from the external engine 10. The compressor 21 of the present embodiment is configured as an open-type compressor. Specifically, the compressor 21 of the present embodiment is coupled to the output shaft 10a of the engine 10 via a power transmission mechanism 213 such as a pulley and a belt so that the shaft 212 extending to the outside through the housing 211 is rotated by the driving force from the engine 10.

Further, the compressor 21 of the present embodiment is provided with an electromagnetic clutch 214 that turns on or off the transmission of the rotational driving force from the engine 10. The compressor 21 of the present embodiment is configured to stop its operation by turning off the electromagnetic clutch 214.

Here, in the compressor 21 of the present embodiment, a portion of the shaft 212 penetrating the housing 211 is sealed by a seal member 215 such as a mechanical seal or a lip seal. The sealing member 215 is made of a polymer material including resin. In addition, the polymer material has air permeability. Therefore, in the compressor 21, the refrigerant inside the casing 211 may gradually permeate to the outside through the sealing member 215.

Next, the radiator 22 is a heat exchanger that radiates heat by exchanging heat between the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 and the outside air introduced from the outdoor air-sending device 221 or the outside air introduced by pressing during traveling of the automobile 1. The radiator 22 of the present embodiment is disposed in a front portion of the engine room, into which outside air is introduced by pressing during traveling of the automobile 1. The refrigerant flowing into the radiator 22 is condensed by heat exchange with the outside air. Further, as shown by a dotted arrow AFo of fig. 2, the outside air passes through the heat sink 22.

Next, the pressure reducing device 23 is an expansion valve that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant after passing through the radiator 22 and expands the refrigerant. For example, a temperature expansion valve configured to be able to adjust the temperature of the outlet side of the evaporator 24 to a predetermined temperature is used as the pressure reducing device 23.

Next, the evaporator 24 is a heat exchanger that evaporates the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant decompressed by the decompression device 23 by exchanging heat with the air supplied from the indoor air-sending device 241 that sends air into the vehicle interior space. As indicated by a broken-line arrow AFc in fig. 2, the air supplied from the indoor air blower 241 passes through the evaporator 24. When passing through the evaporator 24, the air supplied from the indoor air-sending device 241 is cooled to a desired temperature by latent heat of evaporation of the refrigerant, and then blown into the vehicle interior.

Next, the circulation circuit 200 is a closed circuit configured by sequentially connecting the compressor 21, the radiator 22, the pressure reducing device 23, and the evaporator 24 through a plurality of pipes 201 to 204. Specifically, the circuit 200 includes a first high-pressure pipe 201 connecting the refrigerant discharge side of the compressor 21 and the refrigerant inlet side of the radiator 22, and a second high-pressure pipe 202 connecting the refrigerant outlet side of the radiator 22 and the refrigerant inlet side of the pressure reducing device 23. The circulation circuit 200 includes a first low-pressure pipe 203 connecting the refrigerant outlet side of the pressure reducing device 23 and the refrigerant inlet side of the evaporator 24, and a second low-pressure pipe 204 connecting the refrigerant outlet side of the evaporator 24 and the refrigerant suction side of the compressor 21.

The high-

pressure pipes

201 and 202 and the low-

pressure pipes

203 and 204 are basically made of metal pipes. However, in order to absorb the vibration of the engine 10 and the compressor 21, a part of the first high-pressure pipe 201 is formed of a first polymer pipe 201a made of a polymer material (e.g., rubber or resin) having excellent flexibility. Similarly, in order to absorb the vibration of the engine 10 and the compressor 21, a part of the second low-pressure pipe 204 is formed of a second polymer pipe 204a made of a polymer material (e.g., rubber or resin) having excellent flexibility.

Since the polymer pipes 201a and 204a have higher air permeability than the portions of the pipes made of metal, the refrigerant flowing inside may gradually permeate outside. In particular, since the high-pressure refrigerant compressed by the compressor 21 flows through the first polymer pipe 201a, the refrigerant tends to easily leak to the outside.

In the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 of the present embodiment, a slow leakage of the refrigerant from the seal member 215 of the compressor 21, the polymer pipes 201a, 204a, and the like cannot be avoided. Therefore, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 includes a refrigerant leakage detection device 30 that detects refrigerant leakage.

The refrigerant leak detection device 30 shown in fig. 3 includes a well-known microcomputer having a storage unit 31 such as a processor, ROM, RAM, and flash memory, and peripheral circuits thereof. The elements of the storage unit 31 are non-transitory physical storage media.

As shown in fig. 3, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 is connected at its input side with an outside air temperature sensor 301 that detects the outside air temperature, an air conditioning control device 40 that controls the refrigeration cycle device 20, an engine control device 50 that controls the engine 10, and the like.

The refrigerant leakage detection device 30 is connected to the air conditioning control device 40 and the engine control device 50 so as to be able to acquire air conditioning control information included in the air conditioning control device 40 and traveling control information included in the engine control device 50.

Various sensors for detecting the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant flowing through the circulation circuit 200 are connected to the input side of the air conditioning control device 40. Specifically, the air conditioning control device 40 is connected with a high-pressure-side pressure sensor 41 and a high-pressure-side temperature sensor 42 that detect the pressure and temperature of the high-pressure refrigerant flowing out of the radiator 22. Further, a low-pressure-side pressure sensor 43 and a low-pressure-side temperature sensor 44 that detect the pressure and temperature of the low-pressure refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator 24 are connected to the air conditioning control device 40.

The refrigerant leak detection device 30 of the present embodiment can acquire information detected by the high-pressure side pressure sensor 41, the high-pressure side temperature sensor 42, the low-pressure side pressure sensor 43, and the low-pressure side temperature sensor 44 as air conditioning control information from the air conditioning control device 40.

The engine control device 50 is connected to its input side with a rotation speed sensor 51 that detects the rotation speed of the engine 10, a vehicle speed sensor 52 that detects the traveling speed of the automobile 1, and the like. The refrigerant leak detection device 30 of the present embodiment can acquire information detected by the rotation speed sensor 51 and the vehicle speed sensor 52 from the engine control device 50 as engine control information.

Here, the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 is configured such that the compressor 21 is driven by a rotational driving force output from the engine 10. Therefore, the rotation speed of the engine 10 becomes a factor that greatly affects the operation of the compressor 21 of the refrigeration cycle device 20.

The refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 is configured such that outside air is introduced into the radiator 22 by pressing during traveling of the automobile 1. Therefore, the traveling speed of the automobile 1 becomes a factor that affects the amount of heat radiated from the radiator 22 in the refrigeration cycle device 20.

The refrigerant leakage detection device 30 is connected to an electromagnetic clutch 214 of the compressor 21, a notification device 60 for notifying a user of an abnormality, and the like on the output side thereof. Although not shown, the notification device 60 includes a display panel that visually displays various types of abnormality information of the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20. When an abnormal signal indicating abnormal leakage of the refrigerant is input from the refrigerant leakage detecting device 30, the notifying device 60 displays information indicating abnormal leakage on the display panel. Note that the notification device 60 is not limited to being configured to visually notify the abnormality information, and may be configured to audibly notify the abnormality information.

The refrigerant leak detection device 30 is connected to a communicator 70 mounted on the automobile 1. The communicator 70 is configured to be able to communicate with an automated driving control device 80 that realizes automated driving.

The automatic driving control device 80 includes a laser radar 81, a periphery camera 82, a GPS receiver 83, a steering angle sensor 84, a vehicle speed sensor 85, and a control unit 86. The controller 86 is connected to a sensor group such as a laser radar 81, a periphery camera 82, a GPS receiver 83, a steering angle sensor 84, and a vehicle speed sensor 85.

The laser radar 81 irradiates a predetermined range around the vehicle, receives the reflected light, detects the presence of an object and the distance from the automobile 1 to the reflection point, and outputs the detected distance to the control unit 86.

The periphery camera 82 captures an image of a region extending in a predetermined angular range around the automobile 1, and outputs the captured image signal to the control unit 86. The GPS receiver 83 receives radio waves from a GPS satellite, and outputs information (latitude/longitude information) for specifying the current position included in the radio waves to the control unit 86.

The steering angle sensor 84 is a sensor for detecting the steering angle of the steering wheel of the automobile 1, and outputs the steering angle at which the automobile 1 travels in a straight traveling state as a neutral position (0 degrees) to the control unit 86 as the steering angle, the rotation angle from the neutral position. The vehicle speed sensor 85 outputs a vehicle speed signal corresponding to the rotation speed of each of the rotating wheels to the control unit 86.

The control unit 86 is configured as a computer having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, and an I/O, and the CPU performs various processes in accordance with a program stored in the ROM. The control unit 86 performs processing for determining the current position of the automobile 1 and the orientation of the automobile 1 based on various signals input from the sensor group. The RAM, ROM, and flash memory of the control section 86 are non-transitory physical storage media.

The flash memory of the control unit 86 stores path information indicating paths to a plurality of predetermined destinations. The route information includes link identification information, link position information, link category information, link road type information (i.e., category information such as an expressway, a motor vehicle lane, a general road, and a narrow street), speed information indicating a traveling speed, node identification information, node position information, node category information, connection information indicating a connection relationship between a node and a link, information indicating the presence or absence of an annunciator at a node, position information of an annunciator, and the like.

The control unit 86 reads route information indicating a route to one destination selected from the plurality of destinations from the flash memory, and performs automatic driving based on the route information. Specifically, the control unit 86 transmits an instruction signal to various ECUs of the automobile 1 to change the accelerator opening, the steering angle, the brake pressure, and the like, and controls the vehicle speed of the automobile 1 to approach a preset target speed, thereby performing automatic driving so that the automobile 1 travels along a route.

The control unit 86 performs wireless communication with a server 90 provided in an operation management center or the like, and performs processing for transmitting information such as the operating state of the automobile 1 and vehicle abnormality to the server 90. The control unit 86 performs processing of changing the destination and the route to the destination, processing of storing congestion information transmitted from the server 90 in the RAM, and the like in response to an instruction from the server 90.

Next, the operation of the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 4. When the operation of the vehicle air conditioning device is started in a state where the engine 10 is operated, the air conditioning control device 40 turns on the electromagnetic clutch 214 to operate the compressor 21.

Thereby, as shown by the solid line in fig. 4, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 (i.e., point a1 in fig. 4) flows into the radiator 22, and heat is radiated in the radiator 22 by heat exchange with the outside air (i.e., point a1 → point a2 in fig. 4).

The refrigerant flowing out of the radiator 22 (i.e., point a2 of fig. 4) flows into the pressure reducing device 23, and is decompressed and expanded to a prescribed pressure in the pressure reducing device 23 (i.e., point a2 → point A3 of fig. 4).

The refrigerant flowing out of the pressure reducing device 23 (i.e., point A3 of fig. 4) flows into the evaporator 24, and absorbs heat from the blast air blown into the vehicle interior in the evaporator 24 to evaporate (i.e., point A3 → point a4 of fig. 4). Thereby, the blast air blown into the vehicle interior is cooled. Then, the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator 24 (i.e., point a4 of fig. 4) flows to the refrigerant suction side of the compressor 21 and is compressed again by the compressor 21 (i.e., point a4 → point a1 of fig. 4).

Here, in the refrigeration cycle device 20, when the amount of refrigerant in the circulation circuit 200 decreases, as shown by the broken line in fig. 4, the pressure of the low-pressure refrigerant drawn into the compressor 21 decreases, and the degree of superheat SH of the refrigerant on the refrigerant outlet side of the evaporator 24 becomes large (i.e., point a4 → point B4 in fig. 4).

In addition, when the pressure of the refrigerant drawn into the compressor 21 decreases due to the decrease in the amount of refrigerant, the pressure of the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 decreases, and the degree of subcooling SC of the refrigerant on the refrigerant outlet side of the radiator 22 becomes smaller (i.e., point a2 → point B2 in fig. 4).

As described above, in the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20, there is a strong correlation between the amount of refrigerant in the circulation circuit 200 and the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant in the circulation circuit 200.

Next, a specific refrigerant leak detection process in the refrigerant leak detection device 30 of the present embodiment will be described. When the engine 10 of the automobile 1 is in an operating state, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 periodically performs the process shown in fig. 5. Each control procedure of the control process shown in fig. 5 constitutes a function realization unit that realizes various functions performed by the refrigerant leak detection device 30.

In step S100, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 acquires route information to the destination. Specifically, the control unit 86 of the automatic driving control device 80 requests the route information to the destination, and acquires the route information to the destination transmitted from the control unit 86 in response to the request. The route information includes link identification information, link position information, link category information, link road type information (i.e., category information such as an expressway, a motor vehicle lane, a general road, and a narrow street), and the like.

Next, in step S102, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 acquires the position information and the blockage information of the automobile 1. Specifically, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 requests the control unit 86 of the automatic driving control device 80 to transmit the position information and the traffic jam information of the automobile 1, and acquires the position information (for example, latitude and longitude information) and the traffic jam information of the automobile 1 transmitted from the control unit 86 in response to the transmission request.

Next, in step S104, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 determines the refrigerant amount detection point. Here, as shown in fig. 6, the route to the destination includes an expressway. Specifically, the route to the destination is from the entrance P of the expressway after passing through the ordinary road from the present₁Into the highway and out of the exit P of the highway₂And a route to the destination again through the ordinary road.

Here, at the entrance P from the expressway₁After entering the highway, it will go from the entrance P of the highway₁To the exit P of the highway₂The location laterally separated by a prescribed distance (e.g., 2 km) is determined as a refrigerant quantity detection start location. Here, the refrigerant amount detection point is determined as a point at which the automobile 1 is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is a stable steady state.

In particular, in the autonomous vehicle 1 which is not affected by the accelerator operation of the passenger, the vehicle enters the entrance P from the expressway₁At a point separated by a predetermined distance (for example, 2 km), the engine 10 of the automobile 1 has a constant rotation speed, and as shown in fig. 7, the vehicle speed is also constant, and the traveling wind introduced into the radiator 22 is also substantially constant, so that there is a high possibility that the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is a stable state. Such a place is determined as a refrigerant quantity detection place.

In addition, on a general road, the automobile 1 is highly likely to repeatedly stop and travel depending on the state of the annunciator. Since the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is not a steady state, it is not preferable to determine such a road as the refrigerant amount detection point.

Next, in step S106, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 determines whether the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating through the circulation circuit 200 is stable and stable, based on whether or not the automobile 1 has reached the refrigerant amount detection point. When the automobile 1 does not reach the refrigerant quantity detection start location, the determination of step S106 is repeatedly performed. Then, when the automobile 1 arrives at the refrigerant quantity detection start location and the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is stable and stable, the refrigerant quantity determination process is performed in step S200.

However, when it is determined that a jam has occurred on the highway based on the jam information, since there is a possibility that the automobile 1 is not in a stable operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is stable, it is determined that the vehicle is not in a stable operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is stable.

Fig. 8 shows a flowchart of the refrigerant amount determination process in step S200. In this refrigerant amount determination process, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 acquires various signals in step S202. In the present embodiment, the refrigerant temperature x detected by the low-pressure side temperature sensor 44 is acquired₁And the refrigerant pressure x detected by the low-pressure-side pressure sensor 43₂Rotational speed x of engine 10₃Speed x of automobile 1₄。

In the next step S204, the refrigerant amount M is estimated by multiple regression analysis. Specifically, the refrigerant temperature detected by the low-pressure side temperature sensor 44 is x₁And x represents the refrigerant pressure detected by the low-pressure-side pressure sensor 43₂X represents the number of revolutions of the engine 10₃Let the speed of the automobile 1 be x₄Using the function f (x)₁、x₂、x₃、x₄) The refrigerant amount M is calculated. That is, it can be calculated as M ═ f (x)₁、x₂、x₃、x₄)。

In the next step S206, it is determined whether or not the amount of refrigerant M calculated in step S204 is equal to or less than the refrigerant threshold Mth. Here, when the refrigerant quantity M is equal to or less than the refrigerant threshold Mth, it is determined that the refrigerant quantity is abnormal in step S208, and the notification device 60 notifies that the refrigerant quantity is abnormal, and the process returns to the process of fig. 5. When the refrigerant quantity M is larger than the refrigerant threshold Mth, it is determined that the refrigerant quantity is normal, and the notification device 60 notifies that the refrigerant quantity is normal, and the process returns to the process of fig. 5.

As described above, the refrigeration cycle apparatus is mounted on the vehicle 1, and includes the circulation circuit 200 through which the refrigerant circulates. The refrigeration cycle device is also provided with a refrigerant quantity calculation unit (S200) which acquires a physical quantity for specifying the quantity of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit and calculates the quantity of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit on the basis of the physical quantity. Further, the vehicle is provided with an operating state determination unit (S100-S106) that determines whether or not the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and stable. When the operating state determining unit determines that the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and stable, the refrigerant amount calculating unit calculates the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit.

The vehicle is an autonomous vehicle that travels autonomously along a predetermined route according to a predetermined vehicle speed. The operation state determination unit further includes a travel determination unit (S106) that determines whether or not the automated vehicle is traveling on a highway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in the route on which the automated vehicle travels and whether or not the automated vehicle is traveling on a highway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in the route on which the automated vehicle travels.

When it is determined by the travel determination unit that the autonomous vehicle is traveling on a highway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in a route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, it is determined that the autonomous vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and in a steady state.

In this way, when it is determined that the autonomous vehicle is traveling on a highway or a dedicated lane for motor vehicles included in a route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, it is determined that the autonomous vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is in a stable state, and the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit can be calculated.

Further, even in a situation where the engine of the automobile 1 is idling for a predetermined period or more, the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit becomes a stable state, but since the load change of the refrigeration cycle device 20 is large when the vehicle is traveling on a highway or a lane dedicated to automobiles, the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit can be calculated with higher accuracy.

Further, even when the road determination unit determines that the expressway or the lane dedicated to the vehicle is included in the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, if it is determined that the expressway or the lane dedicated to the vehicle is congested based on the congestion information, the operation state determination unit determines that the autonomous vehicle is not in the operation state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is in the stable state.

Therefore, when it is determined that a jam has occurred on the expressway or the vehicle lane based on the jam information, the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit can be not calculated.

The vehicle driving device further includes a position information acquisition unit (S102) that acquires position information indicating a position of the autonomous vehicle, and the travel determination unit determines whether the autonomous vehicle is traveling on an expressway or a lane exclusive to motor vehicles, based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit.

In this way, it is possible to determine whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the lane exclusive to motor vehicles based on the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit.

(second embodiment)

A refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 9 to 10. In the first embodiment described above, the example in which the refrigeration cycle device 20 is mounted on the autonomous vehicle 1 has been described, but in the present embodiment, the refrigeration cycle device 20 and the passenger refrigeration cycle device 20 are mounted on a general automobile that travels by an accelerator operation, a brake operation, a steering wheel operation, and the like of the passenger. Therefore, the automatic driving control device 80 shown in fig. 3 is not mounted on the automobile 1 having the refrigeration cycle device 20 of the present embodiment mounted thereon. The refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the refrigeration cycle apparatus shown in fig. 1 to 2.

Fig. 9 shows a flowchart of the refrigerant leak detection device 30 according to the present embodiment. When the engine 10 of the automobile 1 is in an operating state, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 periodically performs the process shown in fig. 9.

First, in step S300, the vehicle speed v of the refrigerant leak detection device 30 with respect to the automobile 1 and the vehicle speed v one hour ago_t-1Whether the magnitude Δ v of the difference is smaller than a predetermined value e (for example, 5 km/h) is determined. Further, the vehicle speed v one hour ago is first set_t-1Is set to 0. When the vehicle speed v of the automobile 1 is 0, Δ v is 0, and the count value C is changed to C +1 in step S304.

In the next step S306, whether or not the count value C is greater than the count threshold value C is determined_thThe judgment is made. Here, the count value C is a count threshold value C_thIn the following case, the process returns to step S300.

Here, the automobile 1 starts running, and for example, the vehicle speed v of the automobile 1 is assumed to be 10 km/h. In this case, Δ v ═ v-v_t-1If | e, the process proceeds to step S302, the counter is reset, and the process returns to step S300.

Further, the vehicle speed v of the automobile 1 is assumed to be the speed per hour20 km. In this case, Δ v ═ v-v_t-1If | e, the process proceeds to S302, the counter is reset, and the process returns to step S300.

Such a process is repeated, for example, assuming that the vehicle speed v of the automobile 1 is 100 km/h and the vehicle speed v is one hour ago_t-1Also 100 km per hour. In this case, as shown in fig. 10, Δ v ═ v-v_t-1If | is less than e, the count value C is changed to C +1 in step S304.

In the next step S306, whether or not the count value C is greater than the count threshold value C is determined_thThe judgment is made. Here, the count value C is greater than the count threshold value C_thIf small, the process returns to step S300.

In this way, the vehicle speed v of the automobile 1 is maintained at about 100 km per hour, and Δ v ═ v-v_t-1The state of | < e continues for a predetermined period, and when the count value C is greater than the count threshold value C_thWhen the temperature is high, the refrigerant amount determination process is performed in step S200.

That is, when it is determined based on the vehicle speed signal of the vehicle that the vehicle is continuously traveling for a predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within the predetermined fluctuation range, the refrigerant amount determination process is performed in step S200.

In the present embodiment, the same effects as those achieved by the configuration common to the first embodiment can be obtained as in the first embodiment.

The operation state determination unit includes a continuous travel determination unit that determines, based on a vehicle speed signal of the vehicle, whether or not the vehicle is continuously traveling for a predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within a predetermined fluctuation range. When the continuous travel determination unit determines that the vehicle is continuously traveling for a predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within a predetermined fluctuation range, it is determined that the vehicle is in a stable operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable.

In this way, even when it is determined based on the vehicle speed signal of the vehicle that the vehicle is continuously traveling for the predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within the predetermined fluctuation range, it can be determined that the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and in a stable state.

(third embodiment)

A refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 11. In the present embodiment, the refrigeration cycle device 20 is mounted on a general automobile that travels by an accelerator operation, a brake operation, a steering operation, and the like of an occupant. Therefore, the automatic driving control device 80 shown in fig. 3 is not mounted on the automobile 1 having the refrigeration cycle device 20 of the present embodiment mounted thereon. The refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the refrigeration cycle apparatus shown in fig. 1 to 2.

First, in step S400, the refrigerant leak detection device 30 determines whether or not the engine of the automobile 1 is in an idling state based on the rotation speed of the engine 10 detected by the rotation speed sensor 51 and the vehicle speed signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 52. Specifically, when the rotation speed of the engine 10 is an idling rotation speed and the vehicle speed of the automobile 1 is 0 km/h based on the vehicle speed signal, it is determined that the engine of the automobile 1 is in an idling state. Here, in the case where the engine of the automobile 1 is not in an idling state, the counter is reset in step S402, and the process returns to step S400.

When the engine of the automobile 1 is idling, the counter value C is changed to C +1 in step S404.

In the next step S406, it is determined whether or not the count value C is greater than the count threshold value C_thThe judgment is made. Here, the count value C is a count threshold value C_thIn the following case, the process returns to step S400.

Further, when the engine of the automobile 1 continues to be in the idling state, the count value C is changed to C +1 in step S404.

In the next step S40In 6, whether the count value C is larger than the count threshold value C_thThe judgment is made. Here, the count value C is a count threshold value C_thIn the following case, the process returns to step S400.

Such processing is repeatedly performed. Then, the engine of the automobile 1 continuously continues the idling state for a predetermined period, and when the count value C is larger than the count threshold value C_thWhen the temperature is high, the refrigerant amount determination process is performed in step S200.

When it is determined that the engine 10 is continuously in the idling state for the predetermined period or longer as described above, it is determined that the vehicle is in the operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is in the stable state, and the refrigerant amount determination process is performed.

The vehicle is further provided with an engine 10. The operating state determination unit includes an idling determination unit that determines whether or not the engine 10 is continuously in an idling state for a predetermined period or longer. When the idle determination unit determines that the engine is continuously in the idle state for the predetermined period or longer, it is determined that the vehicle is in the stable operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable.

In this way, even when it is determined that the engine is continuously in the idling state for the predetermined period or longer, it can be determined that the vehicle is in the stable operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable.

(other embodiments)

(1) In each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which the refrigeration cycle apparatus 20 including the compressor 21 driven to rotate by the engine 10 is applied to a vehicle on which the engine 10 is mounted, but the present invention may also be applied to a vehicle such as an electric vehicle on which the engine 10 is not mounted, for example.

(2) In each of the above embodiments, the refrigerant temperature x detected by the low-pressure side temperature sensor 44 is used₁From low pressureThe refrigerant pressure x detected by the side pressure sensor 43₂Rotational speed x of engine 10₃Speed x of automobile 1₄To estimate the refrigerant quantity M.

In addition, the refrigerant amount M may be estimated using the refrigerant pressure detected by the high-pressure side pressure sensor 41, the refrigerant temperature detected by the high-pressure side temperature sensor 42, the compressor capacity of the variable capacity compressor 21 determined based on a signal from the air conditioning control device 40, and the like.

Further, the refrigerant amount M may be estimated using a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant decompressed by the decompression device 23, a blowing output of the indoor blower 241 which blows air into the vehicle interior space, a blowing output of the outdoor blower 221 which introduces outside air into the radiator 22, the rotation speed of the compressor 21, and the like. Further, the refrigerant amount M may be estimated by extracting an arbitrary state amount from these state amounts.

(3) In the first embodiment described above, when it is determined whether or not an expressway is included in a route on which the autonomous vehicle travels and whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway, it is determined that the autonomous vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is in a stable state.

In contrast, when it is determined whether or not the vehicle-dedicated lane is included in the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels and whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the vehicle-dedicated lane, it may be determined that the autonomous vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit 200 is in a stable state.

(4) In the first embodiment described above, at the entrance P from the expressway₁After entering the highway, it will go from the entrance P of the highway₁To the exit P of the highway₂A point separated by a predetermined distance (for example, 2 km) is set as a refrigerant quantity detection start point, but an arbitrary point on a highway or a lane dedicated to a motor vehicle may be set as a refrigerant quantity detection start point.

(5) In the first embodiment described above, position information indicating the position of the autonomous vehicle is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on an expressway or a lane exclusive to motor vehicles based on the position information.

In contrast, information indicating whether the autonomous vehicle is traveling on an expressway may be acquired as the position information, and whether the autonomous vehicle is traveling on an expressway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles may be determined based on the information indicating whether the autonomous vehicle is traveling on an expressway.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate. The above embodiments are not irrelevant to each other, and can be combined as appropriate except for the case where the combination is obviously impossible. It is needless to say that in each of the above embodiments, elements constituting the embodiments are not necessarily essential except for cases where they are specifically indicated as essential and cases where they are considered to be obviously essential in principle. In the above embodiments, when numerical values such as the number, numerical value, amount, and range of the components of the embodiments are referred to, the numerical values of the components are not limited to specific numbers unless otherwise stated explicitly or clearly limited to specific numbers in principle. In the above embodiments, when materials, shapes, positional relationships, and the like of the components are referred to, the materials, shapes, positional relationships, and the like are not limited to those unless otherwise stated or limited to specific materials, shapes, positional relationships, and the like in principle.

(conclusion)

According to a first aspect shown in part or all of the above embodiments, the refrigeration cycle device is mounted on a vehicle (1), and includes a circulation circuit (200) through which a refrigerant circulates. The refrigeration system is also provided with a refrigerant quantity calculation unit (S200) which acquires a physical quantity for specifying the quantity of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit and calculates the quantity of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit on the basis of the physical quantity.

Further, the vehicle is provided with an operating state determination unit (S100-S106, S300, S400) that determines whether or not the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state.

When it is determined by the operation state determination unit that the vehicle is in an operation state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state, the refrigerant amount calculation unit calculates the amount of refrigerant of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit.

According to a second aspect shown in part or all of the above embodiments, the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle that travels autonomously along a predetermined route and in accordance with a predetermined vehicle speed.

The operation state determination unit further includes a travel determination unit (S106) that determines whether or not the automated vehicle is traveling on an expressway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in a route on which the automated vehicle travels and whether or not the automated vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in the route on which the automated vehicle travels.

When it is determined by the travel determination unit that the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the exclusive lane for motor vehicles included in the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, the operating state determination unit determines that the autonomous vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is in a stable state.

In this way, when it is determined that an autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the exclusive lane for motor vehicles included in a route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, it can be determined that the autonomous vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is in a stable state.

According to a third aspect of some or all of the above embodiments, even when the travel determination unit determines that the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels includes an expressway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles and the autonomous vehicle travels on the expressway or the lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, if it is determined based on the congestion information that congestion occurs on the expressway or the lane dedicated to motor vehicles, the operation state determination unit determines that the autonomous vehicle is not in an operation state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is in a stable state.

In this way, when it is determined that a jam has occurred on the expressway or the exclusive lane for motor vehicles based on the jam information, it is determined that the autonomous vehicle is not in the operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating through the circulation circuit is in the stable state, and therefore it is possible to eliminate calculation of the amount of refrigerant of the refrigerant circulating through the circulation circuit.

According to a fourth aspect shown in part or all of the above embodiments, the present invention includes a position information acquisition unit (S102) that acquires position information indicating a position of the autonomous vehicle. And the travel determination unit determines whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the exclusive lane for motor vehicles based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit.

In this way, it is possible to determine whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the exclusive lane for motor vehicles based on the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit.

According to a fifth aspect shown in part or all of the above embodiments, the operation state determination unit includes a continuous travel determination unit (S300) that determines whether or not the vehicle is continuously traveling for a predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within a predetermined fluctuation range, based on the vehicle speed signal of the vehicle.

When the continuous travel determination unit determines that the vehicle is continuously traveling for a predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within a predetermined fluctuation range, the operation state determination unit determines that the vehicle is in an operation state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state.

In this way, when the continuous travel determination unit determines that the vehicle is continuously traveling for the predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within the predetermined fluctuation range, it can be determined that the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state.

According to a sixth aspect shown in part or all of the above embodiments, the vehicle includes an engine (10). The operating state determination unit is provided with an idling determination unit (S400) that determines whether or not the engine is continuously in an idling state for a predetermined period or longer.

When the idling determination unit determines that the engine is continuously in an idling state for a predetermined period or longer, the operating state determination unit determines that the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and stable.

In this way, when the idling determination unit determines that the engine is continuously in the idling state for the predetermined period or longer, it can be determined that the vehicle is in the operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is in the stable state.

In the above embodiment, S200 corresponds to the refrigerant amount calculating unit, and S100 to S106, S300, and S400 correspond to the operation state determining unit. S106 corresponds to a travel determination unit, S102 corresponds to a position information acquisition unit, S300 corresponds to a continuous travel determination unit, and S400 corresponds to an idling determination unit.

Claims

1. A refrigeration cycle device that is mounted on a vehicle (1) and that has a circulation circuit (200) in which a refrigerant circulates, the refrigeration cycle device being characterized by comprising:

a refrigerant amount calculation unit (S200) that acquires a physical amount for specifying the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit and calculates the amount of refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit based on the physical amount; and

an operating state determination unit (S100-S106, S300, S400) that determines whether or not the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state,

the refrigerant amount calculation unit calculates the amount of refrigerant of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit when the operating state determination unit determines that the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state.

2. The refrigeration cycle apparatus according to claim 1,

the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle that travels autonomously along a preset path and according to a preset vehicle speed,

the operation state determination unit includes a travel determination unit (S106) that determines whether or not an expressway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles is included in a route on which the autonomous vehicle travels and whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, and determines that the autonomous vehicle is in an operation state in which a state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable when the travel determination unit determines that the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels.

3. The refrigeration cycle apparatus according to claim 2,

even when it is determined by the travel determination unit that a highway or a lane dedicated to motor vehicles is included in a route on which the autonomous vehicle travels and the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the highway or the lane dedicated to motor vehicles included in the route on which the autonomous vehicle travels, if it is determined based on congestion information that congestion occurs on the highway or the lane dedicated to motor vehicles, the operating state determination unit determines that the autonomous vehicle is not in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is a stable state.

4. The refrigeration cycle apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,

a position information acquisition unit (S102) for acquiring position information indicating the position of the autonomous vehicle,

the travel determination unit determines whether or not the autonomous vehicle is traveling on the expressway or the exclusive lane for motor vehicles based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit.

5. The refrigeration cycle apparatus according to claim 1,

the operation state determination unit includes a continuous travel determination unit (S300) that determines whether or not the vehicle is continuously traveling for a predetermined period or longer in a state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within a predetermined fluctuation range based on a vehicle speed signal of the vehicle, and determines that the vehicle is in an operation state where the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and in a stable state when the continuous travel determination unit determines that the vehicle is continuously traveling for the predetermined period or longer in the state where the vehicle speed of the vehicle is within the predetermined fluctuation range.

6. The refrigeration cycle apparatus according to claim 1,

the vehicle is provided with an engine (10),

the operating state determination unit includes an idling determination unit (S400) that determines whether or not the engine is continuously in an idling state for a predetermined period or longer, and determines that the vehicle is in an operating state in which the state of the refrigerant circulating in the circulation circuit is stable and in a steady state when the idling determination unit determines that the engine is continuously in the idling state for the predetermined period or longer.